Aspen International Fashion Week: Gorski, Polarmax featured on Day 2

A piece from the Gorski luxury collection at Aspen International Fashion Week. Emilie Rusch/Denver Post

Aspen International Fashion Week turned up the volume March 14 for its second day of runway shows. A combination of near-perfect weather and the fact that it was Friday brought out a much bigger, livelier crowd — fashion journalists, brand reps, a celebrity or two and Aspen socialites. Sponsored by Snowlink.com, the day’s shows included multi-designer looks at snow sport accessories, sustainable gear and “mega” trends for Fall/Winter 2014-15. Also presenting were Gorski and Polarmax, both of whom are SIA members. Again it was a mix of high fashion and functional performance wear.

Polarmax kicked off the day’s activities with its new line of base layers. Gone is the all-encompassing traditional black, replaced with bright colors, contrast stitching and other details. It’s all part of the North Carolina company’s re-branding efforts, debuted in Aspen, said Jacqueline Wazir and Michelle Conley after the show. “Our new line is really about fun, function and fashion,” Wazir said.

The next three shows were also focused on function and fashion, with Snowlink.com showing many of its members’ gear. Helmets, goggles and apres footwear took center stage first, with pieces from Anon, CP Sports North America, Giro, K2 Skis, Lodgesoxx, Marker-Volkl USA, Pakems, Roxy/Quicksilver, Regina Imports, Salomon, Shred Ready and Smith Optics.

Models showcase accessories during the Snowlink.com runway show at Aspen International Fashion Week. Emilie Rusch/Denver Post

Snowlink also featured sustainable gear from Burton, Homeschool Snowboarding, HALTI Skiwear and The North Face — snowboards, base layers and jackets made of recycled materials, including in the case of Burton, Mountain Dew bottles. You couldn’t tell the difference on the runway — and I’m pretty sure that was the point.

For its third show, Snowlink partnered with Stefan Kaelin to show the “mega trends” of Fall/Winter 2014-2015. For colors, we’re talking pink, golden rust and blue, with bold patterns like plaid and color blocking.

I had a chance to sit down with Lauren Gorski, the 26-year-old president of Gorski Group, before the Gorski show to talk trends in furs. The daughter of founder Leonard Gorski, Lauren is behind the luxury furrier’s apres ski collection. The jackets and vests are made in Italy, with lots of rich fur trim (mostly fox, she said), nappa leather details and a fit that’s close to the body. Gorski’s luxury outerwear collection, which is designed by Leonard Gorski, showed a lot of color — the jewel-tone fur jackets really popped on the runway in sapphire, ruby and yellow.